End gate for press-boxes.



*PATENTED APR. 14, 1908.

"W. 0. LE GALLAIS, END GATE FOR PRESS BOXES.

APPLIGATIOII FILED JULY 13,1907.

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END GATE FOR PRESS-BOXES.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 14:, 1908.

Application filed July 13, 1907. Serial No. 383,586.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM 0. LE GAL- LAIS, a citizen of the United States, residing I at Pensacola, in the county of Escambia and State of Florida, have invented new and useful Improvements in End Gates for Press- Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to oil or other presses, and more particularly to end gates for the press boxes or chambers whereby the oil or other liquid can be uniformly extracted from all parts of the cakes so as to obtain a maximum yield, and whereby the press cloth will be prevented from bursting during the comressing of the cakes since the end gates form supports for the said cloth.

In the usual operation of presses with which I am acquainted, the material to be com ressed for extracting the oil or other liquid is operated on in press boxes having 0 en ends with the result that the material at t e middle of the cakes alone is effectively pressed, leaving what is termed green or soft end in the cakes, since a considerable amount of oil remains in the material, and furthermore, the press cloth used in the boxes is subjected to great pressure so that sooner or later it bursts and requires renewing.

The principal object of the present invention is to overcome these objections by providing end gates of simple, substantial and inexpensive construction and so designed as to enable the oil to be thoroughly extracted and to serve as supports for the press cloth.

A further object of the invention is the provision of sets of end gates and locking devices for simultaneously locking the gates of each set.

A still further object is the employment of a plurality of end gates mounted on a common member or pintle and means whereby the gates can be swung open and closed to gether.

With these objects in view and others, as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accom anying drawings, which illustrate one of t e embodiments of the invention, Figure 1 is a front view of a press equipped with the invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section thereof.

Fig. 3 is a per spective view of the swinging arm or hanger for the gate keeper. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the gates. Fig. 5 is a pers ective view of one of the kee ers or 100 ring members. Fig. 6 is a detai sectional view showing the keeper in looking position.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In the present instance, I have elected to illustrate my invention applied to a vertical multi-box press of well-known form, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to a press of this type. The press, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises generally a hydraulic cylinder 1 provided with the usual ram, corner uprights or posts 2 mounted on the cylinder, a head block 3 on the upper ends of the posts and press plates 4 arranged in superimposed relation and suspended one on another by headed links or bolts 5, there being chambers or boxes 6 between adjacent plates 4 that are provided with mats 7 of any approved form.

The boxes 6 are opened at their ends for the reception of the material to be. compressed and the removal of the cakes, and in order to insure the expression of all of'the oil or liquid from the material and to provide supports for the usual press cloth, I have provided end gates 8 for the open ends of the press boxes or chambers 6. The gates are arranged in front and back sets and are mounted to swing on vertical rods or pintles 9 arranged at two diagonal corners, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, the gates having apertured ends or eyes 10 so as to be threaded on their respective pintles. Each pintle or rod 9 is secured to the press by passing vertically through the head block 3, press plates 4, and entering sockets 1. 1, in the head of the cylinder 1. The plates 4 are free to move up and down along the rods 9 and the gates are adapted to move with the plates. The gates S are preferably in the form of straight bars and are cut away at their bottom edge from the hinged end 10 outwardly so that the ends of the drainage passages of the boxes will not be closed thereby, it being understood that each gate rests directly on the adjacent under plate 4. is provided with a cleat or flange 12, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4, that fits in the ends of the boxes between the side walls thereof so as to assist in preventing the material from working out of the boxes during The inner face of each gate the pressing operation and to insure uniform extraction of the oil or other liquid. The flange 12, as shown in Fig. 4, is flush with the top edge of the gate and is of less vertical dimension than the latter so that the gate will overlap the ends of the mats. if

' Any suitable means may be employed for locking the gate closed and for opening the same, but by preference, I employ an arrangement whereby all of the gates of each set can be simultaneously locked and simultaneously swung open or closed. For this purpose, a swinging arm or hanger 13 is arranged on the head block 3 over each set of gates and supported on the hanger is a keeper 14. The hanger 13 is provided with an eye 15 as shown in Fig. 3 into which extends a pintle 16 that has a threaded shank 17 which screws into the head block 3, the pintle being disposed vertically so that the hanger or supporting arm can swing with the gates. The keeper 14 for each set of gates is preferably constructed of a single strip of metal bent to form two parallel bars 18 that are spaced apart to present a slot 19 of such a length as to receive the free ends of all the gates of the set. One extremity of the strip constituting the keeper is offset at 20 so as to extend outwardly under the overhanging portion of the head block, and from the oilset, the strip extends upwardly to form a hook 21 that is adapted to engage over the free end of the hanger or supporting arm 13, the said free end being reduced in width and thickness, as indicated at 22, Figs. 1. and 3, so as to accommodate the hook 21 and permit the hanger 13 to bear flush against the head block 3. The gates 8 are free to move vertically in the slot 19 of their respective keepers and the keeper is permanently attached to the hanger and gates by means of pins or stops 23 on the hanger and certain of the gates, the stops being so located as to permit the keeper tobe moved laterally a limited distance. By means of these keepers, all of the gates of each set can be simultaneously swung open or closed. To lock the gates closed, the plates 4 at two diagonal corners are provided with laterally extending pairs of pins 24, as clearly shown in Fig. 6, whichare adapted to straddle the bars 18 of the keeper, and thereby prevent the gates from swinging open when the keepers are in the position shown in Fig. 1. By bodily moving the keepers laterally toward the stops 23, the bars 18 will be disengaged from the pins 24 so that the gates can be opened, and to facilitate the movement of the'keepers, the same are provided with handles 25.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the principle of operation of the invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. The combination of a press comprising a plurality of press boxes, gates for the open ends of the boxes, and means'for actuating the gates together. i

2. The combination of a press comprising a plurality of press boxes, gates for the open ends of the boxes, means for opening and closing the gates simultaneously, and a common locking means for the gates.

3. The combination of a press, with a plurality of end gates, a common pintle on which the gates swing, and a device for opening and closing the gates simultaneously.

4. The combination of a press, with a plurality of end gates, a common pintle on which the gates swing, a device for opening and closing the gates simultaneously, and a common locking device for the gates.

5. The combination of a press provided with a plurality of press plates having apertures, a rod extending through the apertures, a plurality of gates mounted to swing on the rod, and a keeper attached to the gates for swinging the latter together.

6. The combination of a press including boxes having open ends, swinging gates for the ends, a keeper engaging the gates for moving the same together, and means for supporting the keeper on the press.

7. The combination of a press including boxes having open ends, swinging gates for the ends, a keeper engaging the gates for moving the same together, means for supporting the keeper on the press, and means for locking the gates in closed position.

8. The combination of a press provided with a plurality of open-ended boxes with sets of gates for the ends of the boxes, a common pintle for each set of gates, and a common means for locking the gates closed and permitting of free movement of the gates on their pintles.

9. The combination of a press having open-endedboxes, with swinging gates for the boxes, swinging hangers on the press, a keeper on each hanger slidably engaged with the gates at corresponding ends of the boxes, and means engaging the keepers for locking the gates closed.

10. The combination of a press having open-ended boxes, gates for the boxes, a keeper provided with a slot into which the free ends of the gates slidably engage, and means on the press engaging the keeper for locking the gates closed.

11. The combination of a press including vided With a slot into which the gates extend,

gates for the open ends of the boxes, a hanger gates closed.

adapted to move with the gates and mounted In testimony whereof, I allix my signature on a suitable part of the press, a keeper proin presence of two Witnesses.

l WILLIAM C. LE GALLAIS.

Witnesses:

CARL JoNEs, C. G. GOODMAN.

open-ended boxes and pressing plates, with plates engaging the keeper for locking the 10 a hook on the keeper for engaging the hanger to slide laterally thereon, means on the hanger and gates for limiting the lateral movement of the keeper, and devices on the 

